People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada
Canada: People not using safely managed drinking water sources was 1.24 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada stood at 1.24 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 67.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada peaked at 1.24 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 296,332 people, in 2000.
Canada ranks 68th of 163 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 296,332 people | — |
| 2001 | 296,497 people | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 298,863 people | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 301,003 people | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 303,097 people | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 342,447 people | +13.0% |
| 2006 | 382,564 people | +11.7% |
| 2007 | 422,948 people | +10.6% |
| 2008 | 464,585 people | +9.8% |
| 2009 | 507,512 people | +9.2% |
| 2010 | 551,358 people | +8.6% |
| 2011 | 596,115 people | +8.1% |
| 2012 | 642,600 people | +7.8% |
| 2013 | 690,022 people | +7.4% |
| 2014 | 737,694 people | +6.9% |
| 2015 | 785,884 people | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 836,300 people | +6.4% |
| 2017 | 889,161 people | +6.3% |
| 2018 | 943,876 people | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 999,787 people | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 1.05 million people | +5.4% |
| 2021 | 1.11 million people | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 1.16 million people | +5.0% |
| 2023 | 1.22 million people | +5.2% |
| 2024 | 1.24 million people | +1.1% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 1.24 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 30,638 people, 40.3× the median. (68 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 361,585 people | 296,332 people | 507,512 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 767,280 people | 551,358 people | 999,787 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.16 million people | 1.05 million people | 1.24 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More environment data for Canada
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.76 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.642 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.3398 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada?
- People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Canada was 1.24 million people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 1.24 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 296,332 people in 2000.
- How does Canada rank for people not using safely managed drinking water sources?
- Canada ranks 68th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using safely managed drinking water sources rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 67.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People not using safely managed drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
People not using safely managed drinking water sources either use unimproved drinking water sources or the improved sources they use are not located on their premises, not available when needed, or not free of contamination.